One of the (many) amazing things about Istanbul is the call to prayer. Five times a day, from atop the more than 2000 minarets in and around this great city, Muslims are summoned to stop what they are doing and worship.

As a Westerner, raised in a Christian society, unaccustomed to such things, hearing the call is at once chilling and awe-inspiring. Way back in the day, the Muezzin, the person who gives the call, climbed to the top of the minarets and sang/shouted as loud as he could. Today, technology has given the Muezzin a microphone, which makes it easier to spread the word but also adds a high-school-gym-loudspeaker quality to the singing.

Our first night in Istanbul, on our way back to the hotel from dinner, walking past the tram on the crowded main street, the call began. I had my iPhone with me and started recording.

It goes without saying that simply posting the Muezzin’s voice would be music enough… but to fulfill my own selfish goals for this project, I needed to do a little something more. This is my first time messing with loops in GarageBand. Everything except the Muezzin was recorded yesterday and today. The Muezzin (actually, Muezzins, plural) is essentially unedited, as we heard it that night.

For those that are keeping track, this puts me a week behind on the project. I wanted to post this last week, but life got in the way. I’ll try to make it up this fall by doing two songs some week.

Click to play below, and/or Download Here.